Heating-value indicator for illuminating-gas



E. J. BRADY.

HEATING VALUE INDICATOR FOR ILLUMINATING GAS. APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1919.

Patented Mar. 8, 1921.

I/VI/ENTOE WITNESS:

Arm/ems).

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD J. BRADY,

OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE U. G. I,

OF DELAWARE.

HEATING-VALUE INDICATO R FOR ILLUMINATING-GAS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 8, 1921.

Application filed July 29, 1919. Serial No. 314,145.

To all w hom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD J. BRADY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Heating-Value Indicator for Illuminating-Gas, of which the followin is a specification.

he present invention is based on my discovery that the value of the ratio of air to gas both measured by volume in a mixture of air and illuminating gas as the luminous tip disappears from a flame, supplied by the mixture, is a measure of the heating value of the illuminating gas, and the invention consists broadly in the provision of ways and means for the practical and commercial utilization of this discovery for the rapid and inexpensive determination of the heating value of illuminating gas.

The principle upon which the invention is based is the following: If ordinary illuminating gas (containing considerable per-' centage of hydrocarbons), without any air pre-mixec, is supplied to, for example, a round orifice burner, the flame will not be bluebut will be very large, luminous and even smoky. pro-mixed with the gas, this luminosity of the flame will decrease, and if the quantity of air pre-mixed with the gas is further increased, the luminosity will gradually decrease until the flame is nearly all blue, having merely a luminous tip in its center; a small further increase in air will extinguish even this luminous tip. The ratio, by volume, of this pre-mixed air to the gas at this latter moment of disappearance of the luminous tip is found, by experiment, to be an accurate index of the heating value of the gas. As will be seen from the following description, this change of ratio of premixed air and gas-can be made in a variety of ways, for example, automatically and gradually, and a scale, prepared by standardization of theapparatus against a standard formof calorimeter can be-used to indicate, at the exact moment of the disappearance of the luminous tip, the heating power If now some air be admitted of the gas, so that the invention is not intended to be limited in form of embodiment of the instrumentalities and means employed.

The invention will be claimed at the end hereof, but one embodiment of it, selected from other embodiments, will be first described in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part hereof and in which Figure 1, is an elevational view, principally in section, of one form of instrument embodying a combination of elements illustrative of instrumentalities adapted for the utilization of my discovery, and

Fig. 2, is a similar view illustrating a modification.

Referring to Fig. 1, the body of the apparatus consists of two concentric closed tubes 1 and 2, as of glass; within the interior tube 2, is a hollow, closed, inverted conical tube 3, as of metal. By means ofthe aspirator at, the apparatus is first completely filled with water; then by means of this same aspirator, and the operating of the proper admission cocks 5 and 6, air is drawn into the outer space a, and gas into the interior space I), the cooks being so arranged that there is no mixture whatever of this air and gas in thus filling the apparatus. The openings 7, at the bottom of the vesssel put the gas and air spaces or chambers into communication, but simply for the admission of water from one to the other. By means again of the aspirator 4:, the air and gas are put under pressure ready for discharge to the burner. A proper adjustment of the barrel cock 8, at top of the apparatus now puts the apparatus in readiness for the discharge of air and gas to the burner 9. Because of the inverted cone 3, in the interior glass tube 2, it will readily bev seen that whereas the air forced out willbe exactly proportional to the rise of the water in the apparatus, this will notbe true of the gas,-this, latter will, continually decrease in quantity, or. theratio. of air to, gaswill continually change The, gas and air mixture then passes to the bulb 10, on top of I and the shape the apparatus, where a more thorough mix ture takes place. This mixture of air and gas is then finally discharged and burned at the burner 9. I

As indicated in the opening description above, as the water rises in this apparatus the flame of the burner will continually change, and finally even its luminous tip will disappear. .At the moment of disappearance the water is stopped flowing by closing cock 13, and the position of the water level is read upon the calibrated scale 11, at the side, which itself, or upon reference to an accompanying table, will at once indicate the heating power of the gas.

In the embodiment of the invention above described the burner 9, is removed and the connection 12, is attached to a supply of the illuminating gas to be tested while the space or chamber in the tube 2, is being filled with gas as has been described. By this arrangement one opening in the tube 2, is made to serve both as an inlet for gas and as an outlet for both air and gas, as determined y the position of the barrel cock 8.

In Fig. 2, the conical body 3, is omitted of the walls of the tube 2 performs the same function as the body.

The expression illuminating gas is intended to refer not only to illuminating gas gases in the generally acceptedmeaning of that term, but also to combustible gas or gases having sufiicient illuminating power for producing the luminous tip.

While'the determination ofthe heating value of illuminating gas by the described disappearance or absence of the luminous tlp 1s a very important part of my invention,

still I do not limit myinvention in apparatus to that method of use, but claim the same for all the applications in which it is useful and which have to do with the determination of the heating value of combustible gas, whether by the disappearing tip method or otherwise. 7

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates that modi; fications may be made in details of construction and arrangement and in the .form of the instrumentalities employed without departing from the spirit of the invention which is not limited as to those matters or otherwise than as the prior state of the art and the appended claims may require.

I claim:

1. A heating value indicator for gas comprising the combination of a burner having a tip and a fuel inlet and closed to the atmosphere between the inlet and tip and adapted to provide a flame at its top only, means for supplying a pre-mixture of air and gas at the fuel inlet in changing ratio, and provisions for ascertaining the air and gas ratio at which the luminous tip ceases an aspirator for to exist in the flame at the top of the burner, substantially as described.

2. A heating value indicator for illuminating gas comprising the combination of a burner for burning at its top a pro-mixture of air and illuminating gas, mixing means for automatically pre-mixing the air and gas in changing ratio to cause the luminous tip to disappear from the burner flame, and devices for ascertaining the air and gas ratio at which the luminous tip ceases to exist and which indicates the heating value, substantially as described.

3. A heating value indicator for illuminating gas comprising in combination an air supply chamber of uniform cross-section, a gas supply chamber of varying cross-sec tion, means for establishing and varying a common fluid level in said chambers, a burner supplied from said chambers, and devices for indicating the fluid level, substantially as described.

f. A heating value indicator for illuminating gas comprising in combination air and gas chambers of differing ratio of crosssection, a burner connected to said chambers, and meansfor raising a water level in said chambers, substantially as described.

A heating value indicator for illuminating gas comprising in combination air and gas chambers of differing ratio of crosssection, a burner connected to said chambers, means for raising a water level in said chambers, and a water level scale.

A heating value indicator for illuminating gas comprising in combination air and gas chambers of which one is internally uniform and of which the other is internally tapering, fluid-level connections for said ..cl1am bers, and a burner supplied from said chambers, substantially as described.

7. A heating value indicator for illuminating gas comprising in combination closed tubes, a conical body in one of the tubes, controlling fluid level in the tubes, a scale, air and gas admission provisions for the tubes, and a burner common to the tubes, substantially as described.

8. In a heating value indicator for gas in combination nested closed tubes of varying ratio cross-section iIlt6P-COII1II1HI1lOfitlI1g near the bottom thereof, air and gas ad1nis' sion provisions for the tubes, a burner connection common to both tubes, a scale, and an aspirator communicating w'th the lower portion of one of said tubes.

9. A heating value indicator for, gas comprising in combination nested closed tubes of varying ratio of cross-section inter-communicating near the top and bottom thereof and of which one is provided with admission provisions, a valve for the communication near the top of the tubes, a valved terminal connection common to the tubes, a scale, and

an aspirator communicating with the lower means for supplying a pre-mixture of air portion of one of the tubes, substantially as and gas at the fuel inlet in progressively described. changing ratio, and provisions for ascer- 10. Aheating value indicator for gas comtaining the air and gas ratio at which the prising the combination of a burner having luminous tip ceases to exist in the flame at a tip and a fuel inlet and closed to the atthe top of the burner, substantially as demosphere between the inlet and tip and scribed. adapted to provide a flame at its top only, ED'WARD J. BRADY. 

